If you didn’t know, TOO FAR GONE is out and has been since last week. I’ve just been really bad about blogging for the last year (or three!) so forgot to announce (though I did send out a newsletter!) TOO FAR GONE hit the USA Today bestsellers list today at #35! (yeah!) I’m still mourning the loss of the NYT Mass Market list, because it would have most likely hit there as well .. only 9 mass markets were in the top 50 of the USAT bestsellers list. Sigh. TOO FAR GONE is the FOURTEENTH Lucy Kincaid/Sean Rogan romantic thriller,… Read More

Last month, Nora Roberts posted a blog entitled “Bite Me” where she took issue with two things and spoke her mind. I agree with every word she said. I posted the link on my Facebook page because I felt it was a valuable lesson in social media etiquette. The gist of the blog was about two things: 1) Readers who insult other readers 2) Who writers write for You can (and should) read the blog (it’s short) to get the backstory, but in summary, Nora’s assistant posted about Nora’s new trilogy on Nora’s Facebook page where, presumably, Nora’s readers go for… Read More

This weekend I was one of 45 authors to participate in the Sacramento Library Foundation’s “Authors on the Move” fundraising event. They raised over $110,000 toward their summer reading program for children’s literacy. This marked the third time I’ve been invited to the event, and each time I’ve enjoyed the festivities. Patrons pay $200 each to have a wonderful 4-course dinner with 3 authors — authors rotate between courses. With 8 people at the table, we have the opportunity to answer any questions they might ask about our book or writing. It’s truly fun, though by the end of the… Read More

I love speaking to kids. They’re usually attentive, interested, and full of questions. So when the opportunity arose to speak during Writer’s Week at my old alma mater, Menlo School, I jumped. Menlo School is a college prep high school (with a middle school for grades 6-8) and honestly, one of the best schools I’ve seen. What I learned there in four years was certainly college prep–I read books that most people read in college, I was pushed to perform at an advanced level. All classes were, essentially, AP classes. They didn’t have any separate AP or honors classes, and… Read More

I love winter. I love the cold, the rain, bundling up in blankets and thick socks. It doesn’t snow where I live, but it does get cold, and that’s okay with me! It’s also a time for Christmas books. There’s a plethora of Christmas books, mostly coming out in October and November, with pretty covers and heartwarming messages. I don’t write pretty and heartwarming, but I had a Christmas book idea … the Kincaid family reunion is threatened by murder. I wanted to call it KILLER CHRISTMAS, but my publisher nixed the idea. They feared it would limit the sales… Read More

I’ve been a fan of Lisa Gardner since I read THE THIRD VICTIM in 2001. THE THIRD VICTIM wasn’t Lisa’s first book, but it was the first book of hers that I read. I became a life-long fan and Lisa Gardner is one of the few authors I consistently buy (in hardcover!) and read. But there’s another reason why THE THIRD VICTIM is close to my heart: it was one of the books that inspired me to write.

I recently read KILLING FLOOR by Lee Child. This wasn’t the first book I’ve read by Lee Child, but it was his first book, published in 1997. It was one of those things: I started reading Lee in the middle of his Jack Reacher series and fell in love with this books. (I think the first book I read was TRIPWIRE, but don’t quote me on that!) I didn’t read them in order, but with Lee you don’t have to because his books aren’t told chronologically. I sometimes wonder if authors feel like I do–that over time, their books have gotten… Read More

Every other Tuesday marks our new Murder HE Writes feature, starting on March 19th–we’re already booked with male thriller writers through May! I’m very excited about this new feature, because we all love our male counterparts. I could tell you who’s joining us … but I won’t 🙂 We’ll make it a surprise. So you get me (again) today, and I’m going to talk about books. Everyone here loves books, or you probably wouldn’t be reading our blog. Sure, many of us like television, and movies, and sewing, and cooking, and sports, and a host of other things, but the… Read More

I’m back from New York City where I was at first the Romance Writers of America conference then the International Thriller Writers “Thrillerfest.” There are many great wrap-ups of the conferences around cyberspace, and it’s kind of old news, so I won’t rehash it here. Besides, I have little to add. But one thing that happened–and is still happening–I want to talk about, because I think it affects all authors … and readers. Self-promotion. There was an undercurrent of angst among authors–and not just debut authors or midlist authors–that they needed to do *more* self-promotion. Many conversations, particularly at RWA,… Read More

I’m back from New York City where I was at first the Romance Writers of America conference then the International Thriller Writers “Thrillerfest.” There are many great wrap-ups of the conferences around cyberspace, and it’s kind of old news, so I won’t rehash it here. Besides, I have little to add. But one thing that happened–and is still happening–I want to talk about, because I think it affects all authors … and readers. Self-promotion. There was an undercurrent of angst among authors–and not just debut authors or midlist authors–that they needed to do *more* self-promotion. Many conversations, particularly at RWA,… Read More